With baby #4 on the way we have to
get a van sooner than later. I know I've seen people post about not being able to put car seats in certain positions in their vans so I'm wondering what some good options may be for our situation.

Baby is due this summer and I will have all 4 still in some sort of seat.

My kids are:
8yo in booster (currently nautilus in HBB mode but she can move to a backless booster, she sits fine she is just a bit short)

5yo in radian FF he is not booster ready quite yet and probably not until next summer.

2yo (will be JUST turned 3 when baby comes) in a radian RF. She will be RF until 4 1/2 likely (she is very small)

Baby will obviously be RF. We don't have a car seat yet but we will likely go with a radian since I don't do buckets and the radian will get us from birth to booster.

So, any recommendations?

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__________________The only time you should look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have as much as them.
Louis C.K.

I have an 07 t&c and I can't put a car seat in my middle seat in the back. I would put the rf radian and the booster child in the 3rd row and buckle the rf in using the trunk. I put my infant seat behind me because I would rather my older children get out on the side that is normally on the sidewalk (does that make sense?).

The position issues you normally see with vans are due to top tether positions (or lack there of) and RF/FF seating preferences. Some people think it's great loading RF kids in the back, others like me think that seems like a pain in the butt and avoid that at all costs. Some people have captains chairs vs a bench, the bench may or may not split and if they want to be able to fold a chair or section of bench to easily access the back row, that changes things.

So, with that said, what kind and year of van do you have, are you familiar with where the top tethers are in your vehicle (look at your manual if unsure) and do you have captains or a bench? Do you need to be able to fold or otherwise store seats for any reason?

Many people are not familiar with their tethers - truly familiar. Many vans for example only have one tether in the back row and it often must be used in the middle seating position only.

Dodge caravans/T&C are not booster-friendly. Other than that, it's more a matter of putting seats that use top tethers in top tether positions and so on (like a pp mentioned). So vans with more LATCH locations are more versatile.

Dodge caravans/T&C are not booster-friendly. Other than that, it's more a matter of putting seats that use top tethers in top tether positions and so on (like a pp mentioned). So vans with more LATCH locations are more versatile.

Why are they not booster friendly?
Sorry, I haven't even rode in a van in like over 10 years. I'm very unfamiliar

__________________The only time you should look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have as much as them.
Louis C.K.

Can't speak to yours specifically, but often the shoulder belt ties in really fall forward, so there is a big gap o space between the child's shoulder/upper torso and the seatbelt, which is unsafe. That's what the op is referring to.